It was a proud day for the Eastlake baseball community on Aug. 17 as a pair of Titan graduates hooked up in a Major League Baseball game not only on opposing sides of the field but on opposing sides of the plate.
Grant Holman, who threw a no-hitter for Eastlake Little League in the 2013 Little League World Series, received a call-up from the Oakland A’s triple-A franchise in Las Vegas. He made his MLB debut against the San Francisco Giants. The first batter he faced was 2017 EHS grad Casey Schmitt.
Titan versus Titan. How rare of an occasion is that?
Holman (6-6, 250) tossed two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout and one hit in his debut game, a 2-0 A’s victory.
He appeared in a second MLB game on Aug. 19, also in relief, a 3-0 win for Oakland, with two strikeouts and one walk in one inning. In two stints on the hill, the former Titan had logged 1.2 innings with three strikeouts and a sterling 0.00 ERA.
Holman, who attended Cal Berkeley after graduating from Eastlake in 2018, was drafted by the A’s in 2021 in the sixth round, 188th overall.
Prior to his call-up to the parent club, Holman had appeared in 40 games at the AAA/AA levels this season with a 4-0 record, nine saves, 0.55 earned-run average and 54 strikeouts in 48.2 innings. Overall, his minor league record through four seasons sits at 5-8 with 12 saves, a 3.19 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 149.2 innings in 92 games.
In three seasons at Cal, he posted a 5-9 record with a 4.05 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 109 innings. At the plate, he batted 0.264 with five home runs and 34 RBI.
Schmitt, who played at San Diego State University following his days at EHS, is playing in his second MLB season after appearing in 90 games in 2023 with a 0.206 hitting average, five home runs, 30 RBI and 28 runs scored.
A second-round pick by the Giants in 2020 (49th overall), Schmitt (6-2, 215) has appeared in 24 games this season with a 0.207 batting average, five home runs, 10 RBI and nine runs scored.
His minor league statistics over four seasons include a more robust 0.282 hitting average with 46 home runs and 196 RBI.
He appeared in 132 college games with a 0.295 batting average, six home runs and 77 RBI. He earned Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American honors in 2020. He helped lead the Titans to back-to-back CIF championship game appearances in 2016-17.
Around the horn
Bonita Vista 2015 alumnus Daniel Schneemann is now playing his first MLB season for the Cleveland Guardians after being selected in the 33rd round (1,003rd overall) in the 2018 draft out of BYU. He was promoted on June 2 from AAA Columbus, where he had hit 0.294 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 53 games.
Of note, he hit a two-RBI double off Washington Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin on the first pitch in his first MLB at-bat two days later.
He drew national media attention with an improbable outfield diving catch on Aug. 20.
In 54 games with Cleveland this season, Schneemann has hit 0.217 with four home runs and 18 RBI.
In three seasons at BYU, he batted 0.288 with five home runs and 76 RBI in 143 games.
He racked up his share of accolades while at BVHS that included the 2015 Mesa League Player of the Year award and 2015 All-San Diego Section recognition. He hit .350 with 20 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 2015 to go with a 6-3 record and a 2.15 ERA on the mound.
The Barons won the 2024 Division II section title – the school’s first such CIF championship in its then 45-year history.
